The Waterbed.

~By the Dreaming Dragon:



"Mokona!!" Umi yelled. Even though she had grown quite used to the creature, it still managed to surprise her every once and a while.

Hikaru sighed, stretched in her bed, and rolled over to see what Mokona was up to. She suppressed a giggle of laughter at the scene before her.

Mokona was bouncing from side to side on Umi's bed, causing it to slosh from one side to another. Umi was flailing about, trying to regain her balance and catch Mokona at the same time. All Umi managed to do was pierce many tiny holes in her new waterbed. This just made Umi's situation seem much amusing. The holes sprouted water in a halo around her, soaking her to the skin and plastering her hair to her face.

Hikaru glanced over to Fuu's bed. The quiet girl's pillow was clamped firmly to her head, her covers shaking violently as Fuu tried desperately to contain her laughter. Every so often she'd peek out from behind her pillow to watch Umi, not wanting to miss what was proving to be an entertaining show.

Umi knew that her friends had been awake for some time, though she was steadily getting angrier at Mokona, instead of Hikaru and Fuu. They had warned her about the waterbed when she had decided to bring it with her. They had reminded her of Mokona'' interest in anything that was new or different. "A waterbed…" Fuu and Hikaru had said, "was something that had never been seen in Cephiro." Although they had been quite certain that the barrier seal they had placed (with the help of Clef), would keep Mokona out, this failed to be the case.

"ARRGHH!" Umi screamed, though it sounded more like a strangled cry. She had had enough. Letting her anger fade, she concentrated on her magic. The water leaking from the bed slowed and gathered. Mokona, happily bouncing from side to side, didn't notice until it was too late.

"WATER SPIRAL!" Umi cried. The water surged up at Mokona, caught in mid bounce, and surrounded him, emitting several downcast yet frightened "Puu puu's" as the water occasionally splashed him.

"I finally caught you!" Shouted Umi in triumph as she leapt up on the remains of her now water-less bed. She pulled her hair from her face to have a better view of her victory. Plucking at her nightgown, which now clung to her body, she continued in a gentler tone. "Mokona, why didn't you just ask?!"

It was at this moment, Umi perched precariously on her bed, that the door to the room flew open.

Hearing the door open so suddenly, Umi was distracted from Mokona and his encasing water-bubble directly overtop of her. The lapse of concentration allowed Mokona to escape his watery prison, and for the water to soak her once again.

"AHHH!" Shrieked Umi as she was water-bombed.

Ascot and Clef's heads swiveled in the direction of the scream, just in time to see Umi get doused with water.

Umi, still standing, glanced at the door. Seeing the two men standing there, she dived back into the remains of her damaged bed, soaking herself once more.

Ascot blushed furiously, still thinking of the image of Umi and her semi- translucent nightgown. Clef raised an eyebrow. "Umi, you do know that there is a shower down the hall, don't you?"

That was the last straw. Fuu fell from her bed in a tangle of sheets, unable to contain her laughter any longer.

Everyone looked at Fuu with concern, as peals of laughter continued to fall from the girl. Fuu rarely laughed like she was currently doing so, and didn't have a habit of falling out of bed.

"I'm sorry Umi, really I am." Was all anyone could make out through the constant laughter. Eventually, she calmed down enough to speak. "I'm sorry, I really needed to let that out or I was going to faint. Besides, it gave Umi a chance to pull on her robe."

Everyone turned to look at Umi, who was now robed, though still dripping wet. Currently, her face resembled a ripe tomato. Similarly, Ascot had reached equal shades of red, but no one noticed him. All eyes were glued to the sopping girl, who looked ready to faint from embarrassment. "Why did you both come barging into our bedroom?!" Squeaked Umi, trying desperately to find her voice.

"Well, I wanted to see…" Ascot began, trying to find something other than Umi to focus on. Failing, he simply stared at his shoes, voice dropping into silence.

Clef cleared his throat, effectively taking the attention off a very grateful Ascot, with the exception of the occasional glance from Umi. "The reason I, as you so put it, 'barged' into your chamber, was that I sensed Mokona's distress." Clef stated simply.

A very wet Mokona slowly crept out from behind Clef, creating small pools of water as he walked. He gave a single, sad, somewhat shrill "Puuuuuuuu' as he started to shiver. Hikaru tossed Clef a towel, knowing that he was about to pick Mokona up. "I've always been able to sense Mokona's moods you know." He said quietly as he wrapped the shivering creature in the towel that Hikaru had tossed him. "The stronger the magic a creature holds, the harder it is to sense them." Clef said, slowly rubbing some of the water from Mokona's face. "But…" he continued, "if the magic used to create a creature like Mokona comes from all the love inside the creator's heart…then it is very easy to sense." Clef finished as Mokona escaped the now very wet and soggy towel.

"Puuu! Puuuuuuuu!" Mokona said, looking at Umi as he jumped on the spot, splashing in the small puddle that had begun to gather at his feet.

"I know you're sorry Mokona. What do you say to a truce?" Umi said gently as she held out her arms.

"Puu!" Mokona cried, nodding and jumping into Umi's outstretched arms.

The speed at which Mokona jumped into Umi's arms, combined with the fact that they were both still wet, did not bode well. As Umi struggled to keep hold of a squirming Mokona, she stumbled backwards. The back of her knees hitting the edge of the bed, Umi lost any balance she had. Which landed them back where it had all begun, with a rather large * SPLASH! *.



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My first fic! Tell me I did a good job, maybe I can write some more! \

*Puppy eyes*

Review! Please!?